The better players you try to sign, the more effort it takes, and you always have to watch out for the lower prestige DI schools swooping in and deciding they like a player, especially later in recruiting if they can't get the guys they want earlier, like if they lose a battle or something.

Is it worth getting into a recruiting battle with another D2 with an A- prestige when mine is an A? The player should turn out to be a pretty darn good guard but I have heard people warn against battles unless it's D1.

Posted by shane182436 on 12/10/2012 11:16:00 AM (view original):Is it worth getting into a recruiting battle with another D2 with an A- prestige when mine is an A? The player should turn out to be a pretty darn good guard but I have heard people warn against battles unless it's D1.

Recruiting wise, there's not much difference between A and A- prestige. If you have more open scholarships, and are nearer the recruit, you have a good chance to win.

Posted by shane182436 on 12/10/2012 11:16:00 AM (view original):Is it worth getting into a recruiting battle with another D2 with an A- prestige when mine is an A? The player should turn out to be a pretty darn good guard but I have heard people warn against battles unless it's D1.

its all about the quality of the recruit, and your chances of winning (which, as alblack pointed out, is really based on distance ranges (50 vs 150 miles is meaningless, its about those 200 and 360 mile jumps) and the amount you believe each coach has to spend on the player).

the primary reason people warn about battling in d2/d3 is there are usually pretty many players roughly on the same quality level. however, battling is absolutely going to be a trick in the bag of a great d2/d3 coach, and you have to start learning some time. i recommend players avoid d2/d3 battles until they are good enough to build a program that can make the NT every season. but then, if there is a player you really want, without a great alternative (consider scouting more instead though), then you have to start learning some time!

I agree with gillespie that scouting more is a first resort rather than battling at DII and DIII. If there is a similar player who is not considering anyone, go after him instead. It's not worth a big expensive battle if there are other guys who are similar, even if they aren't a perfect match or are perhaps slightly lower in your mind.

This is also why it's important (in my opinion) to have several options, perhaps a first and then second and third choices for each spot you have open. Hopefully someone doesn't decide to stake claim to all of them so you have to battle no matter what (or look for yet another option). That has happened to me a few times. Sometimes, especially at DIII, you have to find guys who may be below what you'd like in some attributes as long as they give you what you want in others.

Posted by brianxavier on 1/4/2013 11:11:00 PM (view original):also probably asked many times, but how about pull downs that are already considering D1 sim school? Any thoughts?

In that case, it's very important to wait for the initial Word on the Street to come out and see how much of a priority the player is for the Sim school. If WotS reads something like "is extremely tight with X school", or "Player is a high priority", something along those lines, you might as well move on to another player because it's going to get way too expensive to outrecruit the Sim school. It's still possible in certain circumstances to actually win that battle, but unless the kid has a skill set like LeBron James (and if he did, you wouldn't be a backup for him anyway), it's best to just move on to someone else.

Now if the WotS message indicates that he NOT the Sim's number one option, then you have to take into consideration the Sim's prestige and available scholarships, your prestige and available scholarships and decide whether to battle. If you do, then full steam ahead. Taking a recruit off a low D1 Sim school when the recruit is not the Sim's top choice is relatively easy for the higher prestige D2 schools, but remember that if other schools see you locked in a battle with a D1 school (Sim or not), that could be a signal that you are spreading yourself thin and invite poachers to take a shot at your other recruits, so keep that in mind also.

Posted by brianxavier on 1/4/2013 11:11:00 PM (view original):also probably asked many times, but how about pull downs that are already considering D1 sim school? Any thoughts?

As emy said you can do it but make sure you can win first and when you decide to go you need to go all out and knock the sim off right away. I think for low level battles its actually a pretty good idea in general to go in hard right at the start and knock people off. I have saved a ton of money by sending a couple CVs right off the bat so the other guy backs off. By knocking them off quick it also discourages other people from stepping in because they might not know how much you actually spent if they never see the other coach in the first place.

Thanks for the advice.... I wasn't finding too much that I liked so I reconsidered this particular recruit since the WotS was something like "he may not be a priority for them." Interestingly, it changed at 2am cycle to "he's a very high priority for ____". At that point, I figured it wasn't worth the trouble. My school is an A- prestige and I am very close to this particular recruit... anyhow, I thought it was interesting that the WotS changed overnight.

I thought the SIMs didn't increase their effort (which was one of the reasons I thought perhaps I could yank him away, albeit at a high cost). I think there is considering credit, as I understand it... perhaps that kicked in some more to increase his 'priority' for the school?

I've been burned like this too regarding a change in WOTS on a kid being recruited just by a D2 sim when I am in D3. I was caught by complete surprise and simply moved on from my pulldown attempt after sinking a lot of cash into him b/c I thought he "was very open to other offers", only to change to "very tight" in later cycles. Super frustrating

Posted by brianxavier on 1/5/2013 12:07:00 PM (view original):Thanks for the advice.... I wasn't finding too much that I liked so I reconsidered this particular recruit since the WotS was something like "he may not be a priority for them." Interestingly, it changed at 2am cycle to "he's a very high priority for ____". At that point, I figured it wasn't worth the trouble. My school is an A- prestige and I am very close to this particular recruit... anyhow, I thought it was interesting that the WotS changed overnight.

I thought the SIMs didn't increase their effort (which was one of the reasons I thought perhaps I could yank him away, albeit at a high cost). I think there is considering credit, as I understand it... perhaps that kicked in some more to increase his 'priority' for the school?

"he might not be a priority for them" is a level 2 message that I wouldn't touch in a lot of cases anyway. Maybe he got bumped up to the level 3 message ("high priority/tight") based on time passing and his interest requirements lowering?

alright, trying to figure this all out...I am at a D+ prestige D2 school with one scholarship open. There is a D1 player 40 miles away ranked 42 in his position. Should I even bother trying or wait until I can figure out how to win first?